The main character, Ivan Denisovich Shukov is currently working in a labor camp in Siberia. Work seems to be a very important aspect of all the sections of the book. Since Ivan is in a labor camp, he is forced into labor. Ivan sees work as time consuming and he knows much about when to work hardest and when not to. He has been working for almost ten years. Ivan even questions himself to why Koyla writes poetry. It seems too abstract to him. Ivan sees the poetry as useless compared to the hardwork he goes through. He doesn't understand how the poem works and he doesn't see it as creative or artsy. He thinks of his work and not "useless" poetry. Also, hard work seems more important then ones health. Stepan Grigorich is the doctor and believes that the cure for sickness is not rest but hard work, which seems counterintuitive. Equally, Ivan gets in trouble for something he can't control. He couldn't control that he was sick and he gets more work and punishment for this. The camp seems to have no mercy and work is all that is important to Ivan. Ivan is very oppressed and it seems as though he is focused on getting past the work day by day, he doesn't think of the past or future, just what is right in front of him.
In the camp, inmates must learn where they stand and where there place is and is not. Some guards seem to look for any reason to punish an inmate. Authority is shown in the very beginning of the book. Ivan seems sick. He figures out that there is another warden on duty which is another man named Ivan. He knows that this warden doesn't throw people into the prison hole. So Ivan figures he can sleep a little longer. Yet there is a new warden that comes. He whips off Ivan's blanket and refers to Ivan as Shcha-854. This shows how the authoritative figures cannot even call them by a name. He was sentenced to three days in the hole but that changed to washing to floors. The authority figures can be unfair and punish the prisoners whenever they feel necessary even for things they cannot control. Knowing who the authority figures are and abiding by there rules can also be a sign of how to survive day to day.
A main concern for the prisoners is their survival. Ivan, being wise has been able to survive eight years at the labor camps. He seems to want to be "good" and not risk threats to his survival because he does not want those years to go to waste if he does not survive. Many prisoners who have been in the camps could have physically been the strongest people but if the prisoners don't use skill and know how to get from day to day without overworking, upsetting authority, getting food, there physical abilities won't help. When Ivan had the task of washing the floors, he knew to get to the doctor and to get food he had to be quick. He made it look good without a total cleaning and let him get by. Ivan also knew that when getting to the doctor he can't be seen walking alone. So he knew to secretly and quickly get there. These little things helped him survive and avoid the hole. Ivan also knows to get the number on his jacket redone to avoid punishment. Ivan also hid his bread in his mattress for food. Alyoshka also hides is copy of half of the New Testament which probably helps him get by one day at a time through spirituality. Ivan can get by with a positive attitude and by being able to fend for himself. Survival is a major concept in the book.
Section
Two
Ivan found out that back at his home village, many took up the art of carpet painting. It seems very simplistic and improfitable, but it actually is quite profitable. Work is consumes most of the prisoner's time during the day. Although the tasks are not easy, Ivan states that it's much easier than the work the other camps give to the prisoners. Every day was a different day for them, whether it involved getting water or working in structured buildings. You wouldn't have the same job the next day, so you would have to enjoy the warmth if you had any.
We meet Lieutenant Volkvoi, who is extremely feared by the prisoners. He seems to have a brutal reputation. He is quick to impose punishments, like when he sentenced Captain Buinovsky to the guardhouse for ten days. Every morning, a "prayer" is read that enforces authority and threatens the prisoners. The authatative people that are controlling the prisoners involve sergeants, lieutenants, checkers, as well as the regular guards. The higher up you were, the more authority you had over the people. This could come at an advantage in this time, as well as later times.
Survivial was the most important thing for the prisoners. Because of the lack of food they were given, getting through the day was hard. Too add to that, the cold temperature made everything harder for their daily lives as well. The prisoners were on their own to keep themselves warm. To keep warm, you had to work. To work, you had to keep moving and not stop. Their duty was not to fulfill the tasks given to them at the camps, but it was to get through the day alive.
Section
Three
In this section of the book, Ivan goes to the kitchen. Two men run this kitchen, a cook an a sanitation inspector. In order to produce a meal, men must carry a thirty six pound sack of grits two miles, from the main kitchen into the small zeks' canteen. In addition to this men also had to carry firewood and water to prepare the meal. The cook did none of this manual labor. Instead he made prisoners do this in exchange for an extra ration of bread. Instead the cook merely stirs the grits and adds salt to the mixture. The sanitation inspector justs sits and watches the food being prepared. Both then eat until their stomachs' are full. After their food, the squad goes out to work. Arriving back at the work site, the prisoners are not in the spirit to do work. Their officer Pavlo agrees to do some work and tries to motivate the others to work harder. Ivan tries to conserve his energy at the power station since he is sick. However Ivan must undergo hours of hard labor moving mortar and hammering. Soon Ivan is immune to the cold around him as he is sweating from his job.
Once Ivan and the other prisoners leave the kitchen, they are still looked over by authority figures. One man is posted at the exit of the canteen to make sure prisoners do not steal bowls. Even with this method of enforcement, many steal. In addition to this, the cook uses his authority for his own benefit. When the prisoners from Ivan's squad approach for their food, the cook counts off fourteen bowls but only hands out twelve, leaving more for himself. Tsezar does not go and retrieve his own food. Instead he uses his authority and makes Ivan get it for him. Pavlo, the foreman of the squad is not required to do work, since he is an officer. However, Pavlo agrees to mortar the wall. This earns Pavlo the respect of his fellow comrades. During work, Tiurin got into a confrontation with a higher ranking officer named Der. However Tiurin and his men threatened to kill Der. Even though Der's authority was questioned, Der left Tiurin alone.
Inside the kitchens, prisoners will do anything to get the opportunity for more food. They will carry bowls, grits, fire wood, and water. Every extra job within the kitchen is accompanied with an extra ration of food. Many prisoners line up to wash dishes too. Although some prisoners feel that this extra work is good for them, since it brings more food, some prisoners believe that the extra work is not worth the reward. In order to survive, Ivan discovers an opportunity for more food. After sneaking an extra helping of kasha, Ivan returns to his work. At his work site, Ivan spots a bit of metal in the ground from a hacksaw blade. Although Ivan sees no immediate use for the metal. Ivan decides to take and wants to turn it into a survival knife. In returning back to work, the prisoners soon face a much more daunting task. In freezing weather they needed to construct a new power station. Many try to do the bare minimum amount of work. They do this so their overseers see that they are working but they are also saving their own energy.
Section
Four
Ivan is one of the hardest workers at the camp. "He worked fast and skillfully, but without thinking about it" (pg.97) Although he has to endure poor conditions and freezing temperatures, Ivan does not mind his work, but instead takes pride in it. Staying positive as he does his work, he even finishes up for people after they leave. As long as food is provided for him, he provides his labor.
Those in the prison with a high authority do not make life easy for those below them. They often even go out of their way to make life hard for the camp inmates. Guards treated their prisoners as if they were worms in dirt, but lower. They had no respect for the human beings whose lives they completely destroyed. You can see this when the guards had Sunday, a normal day of rest, become another day at work.
Ivan tries his best to be good and do all of the work that is required. He believes that doing his work without complaint and eating his food, he will survive and finish out his term. Then, he will hopefully survive the camp and one day be free. It is better for him to live for himself, and help himself to what he needs and wants, then to try and help others survive with him.
Section
Five
Ivan considers doing your own hard work and being efficient very respectable. He works hard to earn the little money that he can acquire. Ivan does jobs for prisoners who have the money to pay people. With the money that he earns, he is able to buy tobacco. By having a distinguishable skill/trade from the others, he is more able to survive. He is able to survive without completely relying on his rations that are given to them.
By this point in the story, the reader is fully aware of the prison guards use of fear to accomplish their goals. The prison guards in the camps regularly threaten their prisoners. Not only do just the prisoners get threatened, but all levels of authority were included. Being threatened was part of normal life to them now.
Ivan told everyone about just one of his many days in the labor camp. The hard part was not surviving that one day, but the 3,653 days of his sentence. It's hard to believe that anyone can go through what the prisoners went through. Survival is no longer an instinct in the back of their heads, its living reality for these people. No longer can you just live and not care, but you have to work to survive, and watch everything that you say and do so that you can live just one day longer, waiting for liberation.
Aleksander Solzhenitsyn
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One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Section Two: Page 29 - 57
Section Three: Page 58 - 86
Section Four: Page 87 - 116
Section Five: Page 117 - 147
Group Five:
Ashley Ryan
Jon Glick
Caitlin Carolan
Melissa Lee
Liz S.-Gambal